The purpose of this research is to identify and describe a range of interaction patterns which facilitate or impede the sharing of diagnostic news between clinicians and parents of children with developmental disabilities. Relative to how much is known regarding the producing of diagnosis, there is a vast gap in the knowledge about how to inform parents of those diagnoses. The literature on Informing Interviews suggests that they are uncomfortable and stressful for both clinicians and parents, and that there is a strong need for research which would help improve the informing process. This research is devoted to fulfilling that need. The data consist of tape and video-recorded professional-parent Informing Interviews from two diagnostic clinics for children with developmental disabilities. I will also conduct a field study in the clinic where the video tapes are collected. Analysis of the Interview discourse will consist of inspecting transcripts of the recordings for patterns of diagnostic news delivery and reception. One study will generate propositions about the handling of diagnostic news as a general discourse phenomenon. Where present research largely consists of clinicians' and parents' retrospective interpretations of what happens during Informing encounters, the proposed study is concerned with how diagnostic news is delivered in real-time interaction, how it is received, and the relation between delivery and reception patterns. Verbal and nonverbal behavior will be examined. Another study will examine the issue of variation in Informing Interviews, asking how characteristics of the children (age, sex, kind of disability) and the parents (race, socioeconimic status) affect delivery and reception patterns and the overall smoothness of the interaction. These studies will be used to present and discuss findings with clinical practitioners and to develop a communication training tape for clinicians. This tape will discuss the importance of the Informing Interview and document effective ways of delivering diagnostic news and being sensitive to parental ideas, reactions, and concerns.